Shelton and Waddell Trade Songs and Stories in New Podcast Episode

DENVER (December 3, 2025) – Country music artist, TV personality, and outdoorsman, Blake Shelton, joins Michael Waddell on the latest The Michael Waddell Podcast, presented by Spandau Arms and in partnership with Folds of Honor, Cigars Int’l, The Texas Trophy Hunters Association and Spartan Precision. The two longtime friends trade stories, jokes, and songs in an episode filled with camaraderie, humor, and surprising depth.

The Michael Waddell Podcast is produced by Outdoor Sportsman Group and is available widely on Outdoor Channel YouTube, MyOutdoorTV, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and OutdoorChannel.com, to name a few.

This episode kicks off with an unforgettable opening as Waddell greets Shelton with an impromptu acapella rendition of "Return of the Mack," setting a lighthearted tone and catching the country star off guard. The banter continues as Shelton flips the script, asking Waddell what song runs through his head at the sight of a big buck or doe across a food plot. Waddell answers in song, belting out "Meet Me Halfway," much to Shelton’s amusement.

Beyond the laughs, the pair reflects on their enduring friendship, which dates back to 2003 when they first met at a celebrity softball game in Nashville. The conversation delves into Shelton’s multifaceted career and love for both the outdoors and music. Shelton jokes, “I had this idea that if you could make it as a country music star, you could do hunting shows,” and recalls seeing Tracy Byrd host the outdoors block on TNN as inspiration for how the two paths can cross.

Shelton discusses his evolving relationship with the outdoors, noting how in his younger years it was “all just about getting a deer or getting a turkey or catching a big bass.” Now, he says, his interests have expanded to include land and pond management, finding fascination in how habitat stewardship makes all the difference: “Every time you go there, you catch a big stringer of bass, and then you think back and you go, oh, it was good because we were not just them overpopulate… It becomes really interesting to me.”

Waddell and Shelton also discuss the balance between music and time spent outdoors. Shelton shares, “I would have a hard time choosing between just the outdoors and music… if someone just said to me ‘pick, you can only do one or the other.’” He feels lucky to have built a music career that’s given him opportunities for both passions, but says the outdoors will always call to him.

The conversation turns to Shelton’s storied journey: his move to Nashville just weeks after graduating high school, his singular focus on making it as a country singer, and how he “never thought beyond making it,” and never realized how steep the odds were against him. He reflects on the unexpected turns his career has taken, from chart-topping hits playing a sold-out show at Wrigley Field in 2014 to becoming a television star on the hit series “The Voice,” and shares his surprise at where the path has led: “Maybe I could become a host of an outdoors show. That would've been it, you know, as the pinnacle, but not something like a mainstream television show… so I just never imagined something like that being even in the cards.”

Shelton also addresses the evolution of the music industry, especially the role of social media. While he recognizes how platforms like TikTok have helped new artists find audiences, he candidly reveals he’s stepped away from social media himself: “I got to a point where I just had to cut that out of my life… I don't want to be one of those people who miss everything going on out in front of them because I'm looking at my phone for some reason.”

"Having Blake on the show was like sitting on the back porch with an old friend—if that friend happens to be a country music legend who can talk deer hunting and number one hits in the same breath,” shared Waddell. “We laughed hard, shared some real stories, and even sang a little. It’s a side of Blake many people don’t get to see, and it was a blast to catch up."

The Michael Waddell Podcast releases new episodes every other week.

Waddell’s story began in the backwoods of Booger Bottom, Georgia, where he grew up surrounded by nature, family, and a love for the outdoors. A self-proclaimed “rowdy redneck,” his passion for hunting and storytelling led him to win a Realtree turkey-calling contest, which launched his career in the outdoor industry. From guiding and filming hunts to creating hit shows like Realtree Road Trips and Bone Collector, Waddell has become a beloved figure in the outdoor world.

About Outdoor Sportsman Group Publishing: As a premier destination for the most avid outdoors enthusiasts, Outdoor Sportsman Group’s publishing division is widely recognized for its strong special-interest multichannel brands, including Guns & Ammo, Game & Fish, Petersen’s HUNTING, In-Fisherman and 10 other leading magazines that reach more than 22 million readers. Outdoor Sportsman Group’s network of websites, including BassFan.com, Outdoorchannel.com, Sportsmanchannel.com and WFN.com, attracts more than 62 million annual unique visitors, and OSG TV produces hundreds of TV episodes of original branded hunting, sport shooting and fishing programming that airs on Outdoor Sportsman Group’s broadcast entities. Visit http://outdoorsg.com for more information.